It is often very important for consumers to determine, well in advance, what bills they are likely to be responsible for, and any fluctuations that may occur in recurring bills over a period of time. This is obviously true for budgeting purposes, but it is also true when trying to make life and/or purchase decisions, such as a change of residence or whether a given product and/or service should be purchased and/or what features of a given product and/or service are most important.
A consumer who has lived in a given area for a significant length of time, and/or whose personal and financial situation is relatively static, generally knows what bills to expect, and what fluctuations are likely to occur in their bills. Consequently, these static consumers are less likely to be caught off guard by hidden costs and/or changes in bill amounts. However, the reality for many Americans is that changes of residence and/or financial situation are inevitable, and often beyond the control of the consumer. Consequently, for many Americans, when they do move and/or change their financial status, determining what bills associated with the change are likely to come up, and/or what fluctuations in a given bill are likely, is a relatively difficult task, and is often not recognized as an issue until the change is made and the bill is due.
For instance, a given consumer may have recently moved to a new state, or may be contemplating a move, or may be buying a home for the first time in a given area. In these cases, the consumer can probably accurately determine the cost of housing in the new state/residence, at least the direct cost of the house or rent in the new location. The consumer can probably also fairly accurately determine the cost of food and perhaps clothing in the new location. However, in many cases there are hidden costs/bills associated with the move/change that the consumer may not be able to identify so readily, such as property taxes, seasonal bill fluctuations, services associated with the change, etc.
As an example, a consumer moving, or considering a move, from a mild climate, like Los Angeles, Calif., to the Mid-West, say Chicago, Ill., may not truly appreciate how much it will cost to heat a house in the winter in the Mid-West and the corresponding increase in utility bills during the Fall and Winter months may be a real surprise to the consumer. In addition, the consumer may not even be aware that in colder climates there are additional costs/bills that simply don't occur in L.A., such as driveway snow clearing services, weather related house repair, and emergency supplies such as generators and heating. In addition, there may be significant differences in property tax, sales tax, and other tax structures between the two locations, as well as differences in services used and costs incurred. As another example, in L.A. there is little difference between a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe, and often a single multi-seasonal wardrobe will suffice. However, in Chicago, the average person literally needs at least two separate wardrobes; one for Fall/Winter; and one for Spring/Summer, neither of which being of particular use outside its respective season(s) of use. This could be a real surprise to the consumer moving from L.A. who did not anticipate the cost of winter clothing.
As another example, a consumer buying a house for the first time may be unaware of numerous bills/costs associated with home ownership either in general, or associated with a given area such as, but not limited to: trash service; property taxes; sewer service; gardener service; and various utilities and maintenance costs and/or how these cost fluctuate according to season from month-to-month.
In short, a consumer making a move could quite easily be caught off-guard by unexpected bills and/or unexpected fluctuations in recurring bills and, as a result, have their budgets negated and finances put into disarray.
As a result of the situation described above, it is currently quite difficult to determine the actual total cost of living associated with a change of residence and/or change in financial situation, both in terms of identifying all likely bills, and in terms of anticipating fluctuations in recurring/anticipated bills. Consequently, many consumers are faced with unexpected costs/bills, and many carefully prepared budgets are negated by these unexpected costs/bills. This can cause significant consumer stress and have a direct effect on the consumer's satisfaction with the move and/or a purchase of a product and/or service in, and/or for use in, the new location.